Wheelchair Infested With Bedbugs

It’s being report by the National Pest Management Association that nearly 60 percent of pest management firms have found bedbugs in nursing homes in 2017. You can add Envirosafe Pest Control Orlando to the list. (more on this horric encounter later).

Bedbug reports in medical facilities are an epidemic nowadays with more and more exterminators finding infestations in hospitals, nursing homes, and even emergency room sitting areas. Guess who the bed bugs are feeding on? You guessed it. The patients!

The thought of bed bugs feasting on bedridden patients is terrifying. Indeed this most horrific and unthinkable situation was witnessed first hand by Envirosafe Pest Control Orlando Technician, Buddy Penley. Early Summer 2017, Buddy answered a call to a Nursing Home for a bed bug inspection. Seven rooms were found to have bed bugs. We will not reveal town or name of nursing home but we can tell you it was NOT in Orlando or Orange County Florida. This very real story happened at an undisclosed facility in Central Florida.

It had been a long day for Buddy Penley. One of Envirosafe Pest Control Orlando’s top technicians, Buddy Penley arrived at the nursing home facility with staff who were in disarray. After waiting over 45 minutes, the rooms still had patients and weren’t ready for the bedbug inspection. Finally, after a long wait, most of the rooms were cleared and Buddy started his inspection. After finding bed bugs in several rooms, Buddy arrived at the last room which wasn’t ready because the staff had not moved one of the patients out of his wheelchair. We will refer to this gentleman as Mr. Charlie as Charlie is his real name. The reason for the wait to remove Mr. Charlie from his wheelchair was because several staff members were needed to lift the Mr. Charlie out of his wheelchair. It was as if Mr. Charlie was glued to his wheelchair as he was extremely handicapped. It took several staff members to gingerly wedge him out of his wheelchair. Finally, a half-dozen staff members were able to remove Mr. Charlie from his wheelchair and his room so Envirosafe Pest Control Orlando could perform the inspection. Once cleared, Buddy started his inspection or Mr. Charlie’s room. Buddy had earlier noticed bed bugs crawling on Mr. Charlie’s shirt and pajama pants as he was lifted from his wheelchair. Bite marks were evident as the bedridden frail elderly man’s shirt came up as he was lifted up out of the bedbug riddled wheelchair.

It was a heartbreaking discovery. Buddy Penley’s voice cracked as he explained to our office the situation. I’ve never seen a technician shaken to the core but in this instance, our long-time tech broke down. This man was literally being eaten alive in his wheelchair. He was an invalid and unable to communicate anything coherent.

Below are the actual pictures from Mr. Charlie’s wheelchair and a screenshot of the text we received from Buddy Penley the day of service. By the way, we reported this facility and forfeited any future business dealings with this their management. In our parting words, we would like to send condolences and prayers for Mr. Charlie’s family. Rest in Peace Mr.Charlie. He left this world August 29, 2017. He was 87.